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Posts in the Advisory Boards Category
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FBU Goes to Baltimore
March 21st, 2008
Molly W.
Leave a Comment »College students from Georgetown and the University of Maryland – College Park, a representative from the DC Public Schools, KPMG employees, and SunTrust Mortgage associates were among those gathered for FBU Baltimore on Friday, March 7. Attendees started the day with a lively game of Jeopardy to test their First Book knowledge followed by sessions on Mapping the Fundraising Universe and the DNA of an Effective Board.
We were very excited to welcome Cory Anderson of the Annie E. Casey Foundation as a guest speaker during lunch. Cory is with KIDSCOUNT, which is an online resource that many Advisory Boards use when determining the number of children living in poverty in
the communities they are serving. We also gave a First Book-Hero Award out at the event to Jennifer Pitt, who made the drive from Philadelphia to participate! First Book – Philadelphia is one of the longest standing and most successful Advisory Boards. Congratulations Jennifer!
A big thank you goes out to SunTrust Mortgage for providing the venue and food for the event!
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Advisory Board Spotlight: Karen Audi with First Book-NYC
March 19th, 2008
Heather K.
Leave a Comment »Karen Audi- Outgoing Chair, First Book-New York City. First Book extends a huge thank you to March’s Spotlight of the Month, Karen Audi. In 2006, Karen partnered with co-chair Adam Krotman in New York City to re-establish a First Book Advisory Board in Manhattan. Seeing the great need in her city, Karen answered the call to service and jumped right in. She and Adam recruited members, formed a relationship with Borders flagship store in Columbus Circle and got busy raising funds and tirelessly spreading the word about First Book. Karen never hesitated to lend her support and participate in the many First Book national partnership activities taking place in New York City, including serving as a dynamic local spokesperson at corporate and networking events.
In her nearly two years as Co-Chair, Karen led the New York City Advisory Board in raising funds and granting out over 4500 catalog books to programs in Manhattan. Additionally, Karen volunteered at local book distributions and Make A Difference Day events. She reached out and partnered with other New York area Advisory Boards for events and networking and was always looking for new and creative ways to serve. Her spirit and energy will be greatly missed as she moves on to dedicate herself full time to her family and her own entrepreneurial endeavors. On behalf of First Book and all of the kids you have served, thank you for everything and good luck!
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First Book University in Florida
March 6th, 2008
Elizabeth M.
Leave a Comment »First Book University kicked off the year with a reception and Seminar in Tampa on Friday, February 22. Both events were held at the offices of our partners, SunTrust Mortgage. On Thursday evening, SunTrust Mortgage associates, Advisory Board members, Recipient Groups, and community members gathered to network and learn more about First Book.
Jennifer Pierce with Bess the Book Bus provided a snapshot of what it has been like to
receive books from the First Book Marketplace and National Book Bank. She brought wonderful photos and letters from the children and drove to the event in Bess. Ken Bakunas, chair of First Book-Tampa Bay, provided the Advisory Board’s perspective and turned out to be the popular person of the evening as programs approached him to learn more about how to receive books from the Board. -
An Evening in Wonderland
February 27th, 2008
Nicole T.
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Last week we had the pleasure to join some members of First Book-Collier County for An Evening in Wonderland. The event was a benefit gala for the Fun Time Early Childhood Academy, a Recipient Group of First Book-Collier County. The Alice in Wonderland theme was playfully embraced throughout the evening. Many of the Fun Time Board of Directors were dressed in costume, area artists donated painted teapots for the silent auction, and we were treated to a tower of cupcakes for dessert. Thank you First Book-Collier County for inviting us to share in this truly wonder-ful evening! -
Advisory Board Spotlight: First Book- Johnson County, Iowa
February 22nd, 2008
Heather J.
Leave a Comment »Congratulations to First Book—Johnson County, Iowa for hosting a successful Speed Read Challenge on November 30, 2007! The Advisory Board raised over $5,000 and significantly increased awareness about First Book through radio, television, and print coverage in newspapers. Hosted at an area mall during Literacy Week, the Advisory Board invited 30 local celebrities to compete against one another in a single elimination bracket system arranged to narrow down the speedy readers. Each reader raised donations to support their Speed Read participation. The top fundraiser and fastest reader were awarded grand prizes for their contributions. As well, Kohl’s A-Team volunteered at the event resulting in an additional $500 donation. Thank you for your amazing efforts and keep up the great work, First Book—Johnson County!
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YAY Books!
January 31st, 2008
Erin T.
1 Comment »Campus Advisory Board members at Miami University celebrated National Literacy Awareness Week (NLAW) by distributing books at Marshall Elementary School in Oxford, Ohio. They distributed 3 books to each child, including “Giggle, Giggle, Quack” by Doreen Cronin, that they also used as the inspiration in a puppet show. Their favorite quote from the day’s activities: “Yay, books!”
First Book- Miami University also distributed pledge forms at the student center, to encourage the campus to read to a child. The pledge highlighted the reasons why reading aloud to a child is important including, stimulating the imagination, fostering creativity, creating special memories, building knowlege, boosting self-esteem and developing a love of books and reading.
These all sound like great reasons to me! Keep up the great work, Miami!
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A First Book staffer looks back…
January 10th, 2008
Andrea T.
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Tomorrow I am leaving my job here at First Book, as well as my wonderful Advisory Board volunteers in the states of WA, ND, SD, GA and KY, to pursue a teaching career. Since I started working at First Book a few months before the blog was born, I thought I would take a moment to look back at some of my favorite posts. -
NLAW 2008 Grant Opportunity
December 4th, 2007
Nicole T.
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The Student Coalition for Action in Literacy Education (SCALE), a First Book Campus Partner, is offering five $100 mini grants from Staples® or Amazon.com to campus-based groups who wish to participate in National Literacy Action Week (NLAW). NLAW is a nationwide event where campus literacy programs join together to raise awareness about literacy and create change on their campuses and in their communities. To become an NLAW Participating Campus, you will need to plan a program that will take place between January 28th and February 2nd on your campus and will help raise literacy awareness and/or make changes in your community. Applications for the mini-grant are due to scale@unc.edu by December 17th, 8am EDT.
Several First Book Campus Advisory Boards (CABs) participated in NLAW 2007. They all had great experiences and said it was a wonderful opportunity to raise awareness about First Book and their CABs on campus. Read about their activities and watch for most posts about NLAW 2008. Even if you don’t apply for the mini-grant, we encourage all campus literacy programs to join First Book and SCALE in this nationwide event! Please share with us the great ideas you have planned for NLAW 2008 on your campus.
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First Book Advisory Board Spotlight- Dr. Geraldine Haggard
November 28th, 2007
Erin T.
Leave a Comment »Dr. Geraldine Haggard, First Book- Dallas. Dr. Haggard, member of First Book-Dallas, and head of the Plano Retired Teachers Book Project committee, has worked diligently to help deliver First Book books and other materials to Plano Texas area Title I students. Dr. Haggard often uses her home to stage and sort books by reading level and school. Once this staging is completed, Dr. Haggard harnesses the other members of the Plano Retired Teachers committee to personally deliver the books to Title I students–often staying on hand to read to the children or help create lesson plans to ensure books are used most effectively.
In recognition of Dr. Haggard and her Retired Teachers Group, the committee received the 2006 Collin County Volunteer of the Year Award and the Texas Retired Teacher’s Association presented the group with the 21st Century Award for Outstanding Community Service.
First Book-Dallas and the Plano Retired Teachers Book Project committee would not have been able to go from providing a few hundred books to several thousand books annually if not for the linking of the two organizations by this month’s volunteer Spotlight winner Dr. Geraldine Haggard.
Congratulations and thank you Dr. Geraldine Haggard.
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First Book University in the Buckeye State
November 8th, 2007
Erin T.
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Game day in Columbus, Ohio is a big deal, but last Saturday volunteers from Ohio and neighboring states skipped the tailgating to attend a seminar of First Book University. While the Buckeyes went on to win against Wisconsin, Advisory Board members learned about recruiting, fundraising, and grant making. Media specialist, Kim Knight, showed the participants how they could develop a media plan in their own community. Special thanks to the Ohio Department of Transportation for use of their beautiful facility, and to all the volunteers who didn’t get to watch the game in order to attend. Go Bucks!